DSCL bags Rs 700 cr hydel deal in Himachal

Delhi-based DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd, (DSCL) said on Wednesday that it had won a Rs 700-crore build-operate-transfer contract for a hydroelectric project in Himachal Pradesh, venturing into public-private partnerships in the infrastructure sector.

The company, the flagship of one of the four offshoots of the industrial DCM industrial empire, bagged the contract from the state government for the 108-megawatt (MW) Chhatru Hydroelectric Project in the Lahul Spiti district on Chandra river.

DSCL will develop, finance, construct, commission and operate the Chhatru project for a concession period of 40 years, the company said in a statement.

The project involves design and construction of a 19-metre high barrage, creating a live storage of water. "We look forward to expanding our power business by identifying and developing other hydro-electric projects including cascade projects (in the state)," said Ajay Shriram, chairman and senior managing director of DSCL. "We are also evaluating similar project opportunities in other states," he added.

DSCL is associated with 47 power projects in India, adding to 525 MW in various capacities and has offered energy consulting services in 13 international projects in countries including the US, China, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Kazhakstan.